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Eugene Weekly : 12.18.03 Page 2 of 8 <br /> • <br /> 1111 A Meandering History <br /> Amazon Creek originates in the foothills of Spencer Butte and flows south and west. At <br /> Meadowlark Prairie, the creek splits into two waterways. The original channel flows to the <br /> Long Tom River, and the wider diversion channel flows to Fern Ridge Reservoir. <br /> Historically,the creek meandered crookedly through the west Eugene wetlands,but in the <br /> 1950s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers realigned it into a straight, trapezoid-shaped <br /> channel to control flooding. <br /> After the city of Eugene took over the responsibility for the creek's maintenance in the <br /> 1960s,officials tried a hands-off approach. The channel grew thick with vegetation. In <br /> 1981, the Upper Amazon flooded out onto the streets. <br /> "It fully charged the wastewater system, and then it started backing into people's homes," <br /> says Trevor Taylor,natural resources operations coordinator for the city of Eugene's Parks <br /> and Open Space Division. "Toilets were backing up in all of the neighborhoods. Showers. <br /> People had sewage flowing through their homes." <br /> In response to the crisis,the city dredged out the vegetation clogging the creek. "We <br /> removed it all," says Taylor. "It was back to bare soil." <br /> But in the'90s,community members started pressuring city officials to go easier on the <br /> • creek. The city decided to strike a compromise between flood control and natural resource <br /> value by allowing vegetation to grow on the creek's banks while keeping the channel clear. <br /> City officials developed what Taylor calls "the green pipe method," in which people walk <br /> down the channel with loppers and saws,pruning back vegetation by hand. Taylor hopes <br /> that the remaining vegetation will help to stabilize the banks and provide a long corridor of <br /> vegetation for wildlife to migrate up and down the creek. <br /> What's good for wildlife is not necessarily good for flood control,and vice versa. Amazon <br /> Creek is a constructed stormwater channel,but the city of Eugene—unlike most <br /> municipalities—is attempting to restore its additional value as a natural feature. The city's <br /> three primary goals for maintaining the creek are flood control,water quality, and natural <br /> resource value. "Right off the bat, you can see that there's a bit of a conflict between <br /> those," says Taylor. <br /> "People have streams and they have ditches," says Taylor with a laugh. "But we have a <br /> stream-ditch." <br /> A Throw-Away Creek? <br /> Public perception of the creek as a ditch worries Cindy Thieman,projects and monitoring <br /> coordinator for the Long Tom Watershed Council. <br /> • "One of thep roblems with Amazon Creek is that it's not at <br /> this point a very aesthetically pleasing creek for most of its <br /> http://www.eugeneweekly.com/archive/12_18_03/coverstory.html 1/6/04 <br />